The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You
by PinkTribeChick
Summary: The most unexpected love in their world . . .
1. Section 1

**Title: Tribe 4: The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You**

**Chapter: Section 1**

**Fandom: **The Tribe

**Author: **PinkTribeChick

**Summary:** _The most unexpected love in their world . . ._

**Extended Summary: **An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Amber, Jack, Bray, and others.

**Rating: **Teen

**Pairing: **Jack/Amber, Bray/Amber, Pride/May, and Bray/Original Female Character, with many more to come!

**Author's Notes: **Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years, especially Ariannya, because she is the one who got me to outline all my ideas for the story and then break them down into three separate stories, which became this trilogy! This is probably the story I am most proud of, because of the pairing, which is unique and of my own invention. I hope you will come to love the Amback ship as much as I have!

Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.

* * *

**But I Do Love You**

_**Section 1**_

"_I don't like to be alone at night . . . and I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right . . . and I don't like to have the rain on my shoes . . . but I do love you . . ."_

* * *

Amber sat on her knees in front of a tiny grave, which had a small wooden cross for a headstone. She closed her eyes as warm tears ran down her cheeks. She reached out with her left hand and touched the letters of her son's name carved in the wood.

Nicolas Christopher. A big name for such a small baby. He was born too early and had been unable to survive in their harsh, chaotic world. With no doctors or medicine, he'd had no chance.

"Amber?" Bray walked up behind her, the green grass of the mountainside crunching underneath his black boots. "Jack and Pride have gotten a fire going, and Cloe is making soup. Are you hungry? I mean, you should eat something, keep your strength up. We have a long road ahead of us." She didn't even answer or turn to look at him. "Amber?" He put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she growled suddenly at him, rising to her feet. She looked at him with fiery eyes. "If you had just listened to me about Ebony in the first place, none of this would be happening!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as her face turned red with anger.

"But - ," Bray began, moving toward her.

"How could you have been so blind?!" she screamed, stepping away from him. "My baby might've survived if you had opened your eyes, just a little bit! But, no, you fell for Ebony's lies yet again! 'Oh, Bray, I rescued your precious Amber and Trudy. There's no way I would ever betray you. Look how noble and honest I am now, Bray!' You are, without a doubt, the dumbest person on the face of the planet, and my son has paid the price for it!"

"Amber, calm down," Bray said quietly.

"No, you calm down, okay?!" she exclaimed, getting up in his face and pushing him hard.

"You just gave birth a few hours ago. You're not thinking rationally," he responded, still abnormally calm, mostly because she was scaring him. He'd never seen her so mad before. "You're not the only one hurting. Nicolas was my son as well. And this is killing me, too. But you don't see me lashing out at everyone who cares about me, do you?" Amber sighed loudly, trying to control her rage.

"Just stop talking, okay? Because it's not going to make any difference," she said firmly. She pointed to the grave behind her. "He's dead, Bray." She paused for a moment, looking at Bray in disgust. "And you make me sick." She stomped off as thunder rumbled in the distance.

Bray walked back sullenly to where the others were setting up camp. Pride was setting up a huge tarp over the fire as a tent, with Jack's help. The pot of soup hung over a crackling fire. Bray sat down with a light grunt on a log nearby. Pride looked up from his work.

"How is she?" Pride asked, looking past Bray to the overcast sky. Lightning flashed, making Jack and Bray both jump.

"She blames me for all of this. Including Nicolas's death. And I just really don't know what to say to her anymore," Bray replied, shrugging his shoulders. Jack was listening closely from where he was sitting on the ground, as Bray continued. "She's so angry and hostile. And she keeps saying my baby and my son, as though he's not my child as well."

"Well . . . Jack, I need the hammer," Pride said, before giving Bray his opinion. Jack sat on the ground nearby, typing on his laptop, offering minimal help. "Jack, the hammer?" Jack sighed and handed Pride the hammer, then went back to typing. Pride started to wrap rope around large nails, pounding them into the ground to secure the tarp.

"Well, Bray, I could try talking to her for you." Bray thought about it for a moment.

"Nah, she'd probably just lash out at you, too," Bray answered. Pride nodded understandingly. "But thanks anyway." Bray's eyes focused on the flames in front of him as he sat quietly. Cloe and May returned, both carrying more wood for the fire.

"Pride, where do you want us to put this?" May asked.

"Um . . . over there," he said, pointing to an empty spot by the food sack. Pride looked back at Bray. "Well, maybe Cloe or May could talk to her?" Bray opened his mouth to speak, but Jack spoke first.

"I could talk to her," Jack said suddenly, looking up from the computer. "I mean . . . if you want me to." Bray and Pride both gave him astonished looks.

"What makes you think she'd listen to you? You've never been particularly close to her, Jack," Pride inquired.

"All the more reason, because she wouldn't have any real reason to lash out at me. Plus, I haven't been around much recently, so there's nothing she could possibly blame on me," Jack replied, smiling. "I mean, what other choice do you have? You could at least let me try."

Bray and Pride looked at each other. Pride shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "Might as well." Bray closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them and looked at Jack.

"Alright. Give it a shot," Bray said with a sigh. "She headed off in the direction of the stream." Jack closed his laptop and stood up.

"I'll do my best, Bray," Jack said, smiling sympathetically. He pulled on his jacket and walked off toward the stream.

* * *

_**Please review – I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! And thanks for reading! I will be posting another section shortly!**_


	2. Section 2

**Title: Tribe 4: The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You**

**Chapter: Section 2**

**Fandom: **The Tribe

**Author: **PinkTribeChick

**Summary:** _The most unexpected love in their world . . ._

**Extended Summary: **An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Amber, Jack, Bray, and others.

**Rating: **Teen

**Pairing: **Jack/Amber, Bray/Amber, Pride/May, and Bray/Original Female Character, with many more to come!

**Author's Notes: **Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years, especially Ariannya, because she is the one who got me to outline all my ideas for the story and then break them down into three separate stories, which became this trilogy!

Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.

* * *

**But I Do Love You**

**_Section 2_**

* * *

Amber sat by the edge of the stream, running her hand through the cold mountain water. She was still crying, and beginning to wonder if she would ever be able to stop. Thunder rumbled loudly about her as it started to rain. She continued to sit there, her clothes soaking up the rain drops. 

Jack ran over the hill and saw Amber sitting by the stream as the rain poured. He pushed his wet hair back, off of his forehead, and just watched her for a bit. She had her back to him, but she was still just as breathtaking as always.

"Amber!" he yelled finally. She turned, craning her neck to look at him. "Amber!" He ran down the hill to her, slipping and sliding in the mud along the way. She stood up, and he embraced her tightly. "I'm so sorry." She shivered as he held her. "If I had known . . ."

"I should have just told everyone the truth from the start!" she sobbed. "But I was so scared. I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again, and I just didn't know what to do!"

"It's okay. You just did what you thought was best for you and the baby at the time," Jack responded.

"I just wanted him to grow up with a father, even if it wasn't his real one," she said, her teeth chattering. Jack took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"I should have given you a chance to explain when I came back, instead of just leaving after the whole Ellie fiasco. I thought you didn't love me anymore and had decided to stay with Bray," he said. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"But I do love you," she said. "I don't know how or why, but I do." He touched her cheek with his hand.

"I love you, too," he said softly. He wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her tenderly, as the rain continued to pour down around them.

* * *

_**Please review – I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! And thanks for reading! I will be posting another section shortly, since this one was so short!**_


	3. Section 3

**Title: Tribe 4: The Bad Day Trilogy: But I Do Love You**

**Chapter: Section 3**

**Fandom: **The Tribe

**Author: **PinkTribeChick

**Summary:** _The most unexpected love in their world . . ._

**Extended Summary: **An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Amber, Jack, Bray, and others.

**Rating: **Teen

**Pairing: **Jack/Amber, Bray/Amber, Pride/May, and Bray/Original Female Character, with many more to come!

**Author's Notes: **Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years, especially Ariannya, because she is the one who got me to outline all my ideas for the story and then break them down into three separate stories, which became this trilogy!

Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick.

* * *

**But I Do Love You**

**_Section 3_**

* * *

Bray and the others sat under the tarp in the darkness of the evening, around the fire, trying to keep dry in the storm. Bray was still staring listlessly into the flames. A loud clap of thunder made Cloe shriek, and Pride put an arm around her to calm her. He looked up to see Amber and Jack in the distance, slowly walking through the mud back to the camp. Amber had Jack's jacket on, her hands shoved in the pockets, as she walked with her head down. They were both soaking wet, Amber especially.

"They're back," Pride said quietly. Bray's head shot up, and his expression brightened a bit.

"I'll grab the blankets," May said standing up. "Cloe, why don't you help me?" Cloe nodded quietly and got up. Bray stood up as Amber and Jack approached.

"Hi," Amber said softly, not looking at Bray.

"Are you okay now?" Bray asked.

"Fine," she replied in an annoyed tone. Even though she wouldn't look at him, Bray could see the hurt in her eyes. Pride stepped forward, trying to ease the tension a bit.

"Well, why don't you two change into some dry clothes and warm up by the fire? The soup's almost ready," Pride suggested. Amber and Jack both nodded, and Jack walked off to change. Amber still stood there shyly. Pride walked over to her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He tried to put an arm around her, but she shrugged it off.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. "I'm not some patient in a mental ward or something! I'm not going to suddenly snap and go all psycho on you just because I'm upset! So please, all of you, stop asking me if I'm okay!" She stomped off to a dry corner of the tarp and curled up, sulking. Pride gave Bray a puzzled look.

"Just give her time. She'll come around," he said sympathetically.

"I hope so," Bray said. He sighed and walked over to where Amber's bag lay. He pulled out a clean shirt and pair of pants and underwear. Then he walked over to Jack.

"You give these to her. She won't put them on if I try to give them to her. She's too angry and stubborn right now." Jack nodded, pulling on his shirt. He took the clothes from Bray and moved over to where Amber was. He crouched down beside her.

"Here," he said, smiling a little, as he held the clothing out to her. She smiled back, tears filling her eyes again, and took them from his hands. "I'll turn my back while you change." He stood up and turned away while she quickly undressed and put the dry clothes on.

"Done," she said in a sullen tone. He turned back around. She wore a white peasant blouse and denim capris now, and he thought she looked absolutely incredible in them. It took him a few seconds to get any sound to come out of his mouth.

"Uh . . . um . . . are you . . . hungry?" he finally managed to say, slightly flabbergasted. Looking at her, he knew why he'd fallen in love with her to begin with. She was beautiful, not only on the inside, but on the outside as well. And every time he looked at her, he always fell in love with her all over again.

"A little bit," she admitted.

"You want me to get you some soup?" he offered.

"Would you, please? I'd really appreciate it," she said. He nodded and walked over to the fire, where Cloe was spooning out soup into little cups.

Amber watched the way the firelight danced along his face, remembering something her mother had once told her, before she died. _"Mr. Right will come along when you're not actually looking for him in the first place and he may not be who you expect."_ And her mother had been right. Amber smiled a true smile for the first time in the past week as he walked back over to her carrying two cups of soup. He handed her one and sat down in front of her. Sipping his soup, he noticed the grin she had on her face.

"What?" he asked, taking his cup away from his lips for a moment as he looked at her. Her smile became a bit larger.

"Nothing," she said, finally looking away. She took a drink of her soup. She glanced at him again. He was turning his laptop on while drinking his soup. She looked down into her cup, thinking for a moment, and then looked back up at him. "Jack?"

"Hmm?" he murmured, looking up from the computer.

"I love you," she said very quietly, so the others couldn't hear her. He smiled at her words.

"I love you, too, Am," he said softly, touching her hand briefly. She smiled back, and they just gazed into each other's eyes for awhile.

* * *

_**That's it for now! Please review – I'm anxious to hear your thoughts! And thanks for reading!**_


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